Thursday, April 6, 2017

Former oil minister of Nigeria charged with money-laundering

Nigeria's Federal High Court has charged a former oil minister with money-laundering in an election bribery scandal. Diezani Allison-Madueke is the first minister from former President Goodluck Jonathan's Cabinet to be formally charged.

Prosecutors allege that she paid bribes totaling nearly $1.4 million to three electoral officials the day before the March 2015 presidential elections.

A former national security adviser has told the High Court that $2.1 billion was diverted from the war on Boko Haram Islamic extremists for bribes to ensure Jonathan won the election.

Allison-Madueke was absent when charges were read Wednesday. She has been in London since Jonathan lost the 2015 elections. British National Crime Agency officers detained her briefly in 2015 for questioning about alleged money-laundering.